In classic melodrama director Douglas Sirk's final major movie Lana Turner plays an aspiring actress Lora Meredith who meets a kind black lady named Annie Johnson (Juanita Moore) on a beach and invites her and her light-skinned daughter Sarah Jane (Karin Dicker) to stay at her home temporarily. After initial difficulties, Lora's acting career takes off and Annie and Sarah Jane become a permanent part of her family that also includes her young daughter Susie (Terry Burnham). Years pass, the family gains a good fortune and the girls grow up to young women, but life is not just constant bliss: the racial self-hatred of Sarah Jane (now played by Susan Kohner) is seriously affecting her life and self-image, while the teenaged Susie (Sandra Dee) develops feelings for Steve Archer (John Gavin), the potential fiancé of Lora.
Many melodramatic exaggerations are present in Imitation of Life, as expected from a Sirk film. Immediately upon her introduction, the character of Annie comes across as almost laughably kind and willing to serve those around her without pay, and she stays overwhelmingly understanding and loving to everyone throughout the story. On the other hand, Sarah Jane is aware of her racial background from a very young age and aggressively tries to pass for a white girl with her classmates, leading to intense feelings of inferiority whenever her loving mother tries to approach her in public. Lora, while basically sympathetic to Annie and Sarah Jane's suffering, is ultimately too carefree by nature to really understand their feelings. Susie could be said to be Lora to the power of two: her joy of life and teenage worries are doubled by her young age and naive nature.
The somewhat withdrawn and reserved Steve Archer carries a fresh breeze of calmness amidst the larger than life characters of the family. Thanks to the charismatic actors and Sirk's steady-handed direction, many of the scenes look rather exciting, such as Sarah Jane's rough breakup with her boyfriend and her later showgirl performances at seedy New York clubs with the sad Annie in the audience. The tragic final scenes also look good, as overwrought as they are.
Even though the examined themes are grand (racism and related self-hatred, mother's unconditional love, class differences...), I feel Sirk's style has been slightly toned down when compared to, say, Written on the Wind (1956). The colours are less bright and the music remains more down-to-earth, even though it still certainly satisfies friends of sentimental violin tunes. Still, admirers of melodramatic family sagas should find Imitation of Life very enjoyable.
Many melodramatic exaggerations are present in Imitation of Life, as expected from a Sirk film. Immediately upon her introduction, the character of Annie comes across as almost laughably kind and willing to serve those around her without pay, and she stays overwhelmingly understanding and loving to everyone throughout the story. On the other hand, Sarah Jane is aware of her racial background from a very young age and aggressively tries to pass for a white girl with her classmates, leading to intense feelings of inferiority whenever her loving mother tries to approach her in public. Lora, while basically sympathetic to Annie and Sarah Jane's suffering, is ultimately too carefree by nature to really understand their feelings. Susie could be said to be Lora to the power of two: her joy of life and teenage worries are doubled by her young age and naive nature.
The somewhat withdrawn and reserved Steve Archer carries a fresh breeze of calmness amidst the larger than life characters of the family. Thanks to the charismatic actors and Sirk's steady-handed direction, many of the scenes look rather exciting, such as Sarah Jane's rough breakup with her boyfriend and her later showgirl performances at seedy New York clubs with the sad Annie in the audience. The tragic final scenes also look good, as overwrought as they are.
Even though the examined themes are grand (racism and related self-hatred, mother's unconditional love, class differences...), I feel Sirk's style has been slightly toned down when compared to, say, Written on the Wind (1956). The colours are less bright and the music remains more down-to-earth, even though it still certainly satisfies friends of sentimental violin tunes. Still, admirers of melodramatic family sagas should find Imitation of Life very enjoyable.